In 2019 Shirah winery made two different Coalition blends: one based off of Touriga Nacional as in many past renditions of the Coalition, and the second Coalition is a blend of Italian varieties Sagrantino, Freisa, and Aglianico with a touch of Mourvedre.
The Italian varieties were all grown by Ron Siletto east of Pinnacles deep in San Benito in the northern part of the Central Coast. The dash of Mourvedre added was from our blend of Luna Matta and Shokrian Mourvedre.
The Sagrantino is a very muscular, dark wine with big tannins and deep fruit. The Freisa is vibrant, juicy red with old-world cherry notes, and the Aglianico was surprisingly very light in color and intensely aromatic and floral. The Mourvedre was added to express even more floral and spice components. The consistent characteristic of the Italian varieties was a pronounced bay laurel note that perfectly compliments the bright red raspberry fruit of this wine. Aged in 100% neutral French oak, it is a very expressive and pure wine.
Color: Dark ruby red
Nose: bay leaf, sagebrush, raspberry, juniper,
Mouth: juicy acidity, mineral tannin, pomegranate, cranberry raspberry, shiitake, fig